Official suggests extending law on special status to more areas in eastern Ukraine

October 22, 2014, 11:42 UTC+3KIEV KIEV October, 22. /TASSHead of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region asked the Ukrainian parliament to extend the law on self-rule status to other areas out of Kiev’s control

KIEV, October 22. /TASS/. The Luhansk region’s head Gennady Moskal has asked the Ukrainian parliament to extend the law on the special status of Donbass to other districts in the territory controlled by Ukrainian government forces, but which in fact have gone out of Ukraine’s control.

He said authorities of 129 towns and villages in the region have taken the side of the militia during the conflict.

Moskal sent a list to the Ukrainian parliament’s chairman, numbering districts, cities, towns and villages that need a special self-government status, the region’s website said. All the localities are in the Ukraine-controlled territory, but it is impossible to convene a meeting of a district, city or village council. There are no mayors and no village heads. “All of them have fled to Russia or are members of the militia,” the governor said.

Since local governments could not perform their direct functions, Moskal said it was necessary to reelect or reset them.

In fact there are two territorial entities in the region. One is the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic headed by Igor Plotnitsky, and the other is the Luhansk region headed by Gennady Moskal approved for the post by Petro Poroshenko’s decree on September 18.

The law on the special self-government status for some districts in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions came into effect on October 18 and will remain in force for three years. The law guarantees that conflict participants in Donbass will not be persecuted by Ukrainian authorities.